Anna Dorothea Therbusch
Encyclopedia
Anna Dorothea Therbusch was a prominent Rococo
painter born in the Kingdom of Prussia
. About 200 of her works survive, and she painted at least eighty-five verified portraits.
. She came from a noted family, the daughter of Georg Lisiewski (1674–1751), a Berlin portrait painter of Polish stock who arrived in Prussia in 1692 as part of the retinue of the court architect Johann Friedrich Eosander von Göthe. Georg taught Anna, her sister and their brother to paint. Anna Dorothea and her elder sister Anna Rosina were hailed as Wunderkinder of painting.
Anna Dorothea married Berlin innkeeper Ernst Friedrich Therbusch and gave up painting until around 1760 in order to help her husband in the restaurant. Not until her spousal obligations were discharged, as a "short-sighted, middle-aged woman", did she abandon her family to return to her art.
court of Duke Karl Eugen
. She completed eighteen paintings in the shortest time for the castle gallery. In 1762 she became an honorary member of the Stuttgart Academy of the Arts and worked in Stuttgart and Mannheim
. In 1765 she went to Paris
. The French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture
displayed her work first, proudly supporting a female artist. Denis Diderot
, the controversial and outspoken art critic and philosopher, was sympathetic to her, even to the point of posing naked for her. Anna Dorothea finally joined the Academy in 1767, lived with Diderot and met famous artists, and even painted Philipp Hackert but she remained unsuccessful in Paris. That time is, however, seen as her most creative.
(Frederick the Great), whose newly-built palace of Sanssouci
she decorated with mythological scenes. She also painted portraits of eight Prussian royals for Catherine II of Russia
(Catherine the Great). Though Anna Dorothea never went to Russia, Russian collectors also appreciated her work. She also met the group of artists surrounding Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
.
She died in Berlin at the age of 61, and was buried on Dorotheenstadt cemetery, whose pertaining church was destroyed in World War II
. Her tomb remains intact.
Her relationship with Diderot inspired Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt
to write his play Der Freigeist ( "The Free Spirit"), also known as Der Libertin ( "The Libertine").
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
painter born in the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
. About 200 of her works survive, and she painted at least eighty-five verified portraits.
Birth to 1760
Anna Dorothea Therbusch was born in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. She came from a noted family, the daughter of Georg Lisiewski (1674–1751), a Berlin portrait painter of Polish stock who arrived in Prussia in 1692 as part of the retinue of the court architect Johann Friedrich Eosander von Göthe. Georg taught Anna, her sister and their brother to paint. Anna Dorothea and her elder sister Anna Rosina were hailed as Wunderkinder of painting.
Anna Dorothea married Berlin innkeeper Ernst Friedrich Therbusch and gave up painting until around 1760 in order to help her husband in the restaurant. Not until her spousal obligations were discharged, as a "short-sighted, middle-aged woman", did she abandon her family to return to her art.
Paris
Therbusch's first recorded return to painting was in 1761 in the StuttgartStuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
court of Duke Karl Eugen
Karl Eugen, Duke of Württemberg
Charles Eugene , Duke of Württemberg was the eldest son of Duke Karl I Alexander and Princess Maria Augusta of Thurn and Taxis .-Life:...
. She completed eighteen paintings in the shortest time for the castle gallery. In 1762 she became an honorary member of the Stuttgart Academy of the Arts and worked in Stuttgart and Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
. In 1765 she went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. The French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture
Académie de peinture et de sculpture
The Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture , Paris, was founded in 1648, modelled on Italian examples, such as the Accademia di San Luca in Rome. Paris already had the Académie de Saint-Luc, which was a city artist guild like any other Guild of Saint Luke...
displayed her work first, proudly supporting a female artist. Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer. He was a prominent person during the Enlightenment and is best known for serving as co-founder and chief editor of and contributor to the Encyclopédie....
, the controversial and outspoken art critic and philosopher, was sympathetic to her, even to the point of posing naked for her. Anna Dorothea finally joined the Academy in 1767, lived with Diderot and met famous artists, and even painted Philipp Hackert but she remained unsuccessful in Paris. That time is, however, seen as her most creative.
Return to Prussia
Paris was, and is, an expensive city and Anna Dorothea had financial difficulties. From November 1768 until early 1769, the heavily-indebted painter returned to Berlin, via Brussels and the Netherlands, and became the primary painter in Prussia, where she was held in high esteem. She was portrait painter to Frederick II of PrussiaFrederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
(Frederick the Great), whose newly-built palace of Sanssouci
Sanssouci
Sanssouci is the name of the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, in Potsdam, near Berlin. It is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and is far smaller than its French Baroque counterpart, it too is...
she decorated with mythological scenes. She also painted portraits of eight Prussian royals for Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
(Catherine the Great). Though Anna Dorothea never went to Russia, Russian collectors also appreciated her work. She also met the group of artists surrounding Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
.
She died in Berlin at the age of 61, and was buried on Dorotheenstadt cemetery, whose pertaining church was destroyed in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Her tomb remains intact.
Her relationship with Diderot inspired Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt
Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt
Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt is a French dramatist, novelist and fiction writer. His plays have been staged in over fifty countries all over the world.- Life :...
to write his play Der Freigeist ( "The Free Spirit"), also known as Der Libertin ( "The Libertine").
Sources
This article was translated from its equivalent in the German Wikipedia on 20 July 2009.- Katharina Küster, Beatrice Scherzer and Andrea Fix: Der freie Blick. Anna Dorothea Therbusch und Ludovike Simanowiz. Zwei Porträtmalerinnen des 18. Jahrhunderts. (Catalog for exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum Ludwigsburg, Kunstverein Ludwigsburg, Villa Franck, 2002/2003), Kehrer Verlag Heidelberg, ISBN 3-933257-85-9
- Bärbel Kovalevski (ed.): Zwischen Ideal und Wirklichkeit, Künstlerinnen der Goethe-Zeit zwischen 1750 und 1850, exhibition catalogue, Hatje Crantz Verlag, Gotha, Constance, 1999, ISBN 3-7757-0806-5
- Frances Borzello: Wie Frauen sich sehen. Selbstbildnisse aus fünf Jahrhunderten. Karl Blessing Verlag Munich 1998.
- Gottfried Sello: Malerinnen aus fünf Jahrhunderten. Ellert und Richter, Hamburg 1988, ISBN 3-89234-077-3